Hello everyone !

Welcome back to the breezy seaside

of Tsuruga!

About six months ago I made a video here during the summer

it's so crazy to be back here during the winter!

We are are actually shooting a series for NHK World!

We just did the opening scene over by the train station

And now we're gonna go and check out the city

I'm really excited to be back and see what else there is

to share with you guys!

I feel like this is the first time I did a full-on cosplay.

This is very full-on for me!

Plus my boots match perfectly!

But you guys didn't expect to see this now, huh?

So there's actually a famous anime called Galaxy Express 999

and I'm here at this store that actually

lets you try on their costumes for free!

There are monuments along the shopping streets here

so you can pose with the statue that you're dressed like.

So I picked the "Conductor" first!

What do you think?

Wish I knew like what her - what her Japanese like catchphrase was...

Welcome to the Galaxy...Express..

Got my Galaxy gun

So this is one of the things you can do here

you can try on the costumes for free

and look your best!

There's a fish market in Tsuruga that we visited before

and today we came back because they have a special treat!

It was snowing really hard earlier.

It finally just started to die down so either way

I'm excited see what they've got this season!

Hello again!!

do you remember Yuuko?

In the video that I did in Tsuruga last time

I think we were standing in this same order, too!

Yeah, but we're back and I got to meet Yuuko again.

This time she let me eat delicious Echizen Crabs

which are only available in this season!

But I also have to eat something a little different

We don't normally eat it in the States, but I ate the...

the "kani-miso" (brown meat)

You made me eat it!!!

LOL!YEP!!

How was it, honestly???

It was a little bitter, but still good!

It really tasted like scrambled eggs!

But...with a little bitterness to it.

So I'm having new experiences again thanks to Yuuko.

Thank you!!

There's are snow crabs all across the Japan sea

across the bay and along the coast

but in Tsuruga they specifically call it "Echizen Crab"

which refers to what they sell here,

a local delicacy that can only be found here,

in winter, during these months.

So we're at just the right place, and just the right time!

Ok, it's ready!!!

We've made it to the famous Echizen crab!

So one of the places we're visiting in Tsuruga,

I didn't get to see it last time so it's my first time now

this is almost like a museum

but this was a house over 100 years ago

that's now been converted into this place with an exhibit

of these adorable little

traditional "washi" paper doll figurines!

They're depicting these beautiful scenes.

At a glance it looks like cute dolls or just adorable Japanese figurines

but when you really look closely you start to see

all of the tiny, intricate details

and also the humor of the original artist!

There's little cats and little dogs,

and in the little books there are even words written inside

Oh! look little dogs over here. They're so cute!

The actual figurines don't have any faces on them

because you're supposed to impose your own expression onto their faces

but looking at them, their bodies still show so much movement

and so much expression just in the way they're placed

So it's really easy to kind of put yourself into the scene

and reimagine it

each one is a different scene but

they're all so fun and extra whimsical!

These are just a few snapshots from my point of view

But the full TV episode is actually online now for anyone to stream and enjoy.

So thank you to everyone who watched the live broadcast on NHK and for those of you about to watch

You won't expect the surprising history

And the century-old link to the world that often goes untold.

Let me know what you guys think in a comment below

I'll see you guys next time, bye!